Between Truth And Lies
by BeautifulStruggle
Summary: [Adulthood]Even with people's thoughts it's hard to sperate the truth from the lies.   Twenty thoughts on the relationships of Naruto and the women in his life. [NaruIno][NaruHina] [revised and rewritten]


**Between Truth and Lies**

1. She tried to tell herself that it was normal to find attractive qualities about the people you worked with. He had grown into a handsome young man and his boyish charm seems so enticing to young blonde Yamanaka girl. She found her ANBU squad leader had more on his mind than dreams of being a Hokage and large amounts of ramen to fill his belly. But he did care about the whole village and really wanted to be a good leader. If not for the fact that he was already spoken for, he would be worth taking a chance on. But as much as she loved having fun, she never, ever went after men with girlfriends: Even cute, charming ones.

2. It was normal for him to think of his second in command as attractive. At least that's what he told himself every time he stared at her shapely backside during training or allowed himself to get lost within those ice-blue pools she had for eyes. He had to admit he found her nothing like the bossy, vain girl who used to compete with his former teammate all the time during their academy days. It wasn't unusual to see the good in people you worked so closely with and only a fool would try to say the azure-eyed kunoichi was anything less than stunning. Still, he had a wonderful woman who waited for him every night and she was more than enough for him.

3. She was proud of her old academy crush for rising in the ranks and becoming an ANBU squad leader. It wasn't selfish of her if to take pride in her boyfriend's accomplishments as well as his rising popularity with the female population of the village. Just like she used to dream as a little girl, he had taken her as his beloved and she wouldn't allow anything to change that: not her noble family, not the people who always called her weak, especially not any of the women who found excuses to talk to her blonde boyfriend who was rumored to be next in line for Hokage.

4. She really did love his girlfriend and thought they made a cute couple. Secretly she wanted the same happiness and companionship for her own, but would never admit it to anyone. But it wasn't comfort or happiness she found in fleeting moments when her commander hugged her after a successful mission. It also meant nothing when she accidentally touched him when both of them had too many to drink after getting off duty. He always went home to his lovely girlfriend. . . a girl she found a little too lovely. . .and she always went home alone.

5. He tried to tell himself it wasn't unusual to think of someone else as he lay next to his girlfriend. Sometimes he would look at the heiress and dark, bluish-black hair would morph into sunshine blonde and pupiless white eyes would suddenly be filled with azure orbs. He was also convinced that his overactive imagination was not the reason he only called her "baby" or "honey" when they made love. Besides, men were more visual in the first place so fantasy here and there wasn't a problem.

6. She told herself it wasn't so odd that he smelled like violets and jasmine when he came home. She knew his teammate wore enough of the strong scent that it arrived in a room before she did. It had nothing to do with the lingering hugs his teammate gave him whenever they saw each other outside of work.

7. She tried not to think about when she called out her commander's name the last time she brought a man home with her. It didn't mean anything and she decided she wasn't going to think about it. Odd things happen when one made love and she wasn't responsible for what that happened in the heat of passion.

8. He did not get pleasure out of having to carry her home at night. As much as he loved having a drinking buddy who would go the distance, she put herself in danger. He tried to ignore the way her body seemed to meld into his as he carried her bridal style through the streets. Still, he was a man and the lush curves of an alluring woman coupled with the soft breath that tickled his neck had its effect on him. He convinced himself that he was simply doing a good deed by taking her home. He would make sure she got home safely and place her in bed. Afterwards he would go home to his girlfriend and work out some of the pent up frustration caused by being so helpful.

9. She didn't mind the late nights much. Even her cousin got in late after he got of duty, so why shouldn't her boyfriend? He always came home and curled up into bed with her and he always whispered how much he missed her during the day. His sweet words and gentle caresses made it easy to keep ignoring the strong scent of violent and jasmine that saturated his clothes.

10. She loved the time she spent shopping with his girlfriend. They got along almost as well as she did with her friend the medic-ninja. She found herself listening to the heiress talk about how well her boyfriend treated her and how happy she was now that they lived together. As they passed a jewelry store and the white-eye girl pointed out the ring he said he wanted to buy her, she tried not to suppress the twinge of jealousy that festered in her stomach. She should be happy for the two of them because they were her friends?

11. As the two disguised shinobi walked into Hidden Mist with their fingers intertwined, he tried not to think about his girlfriend waiting for him at home. He was on a recon mission and he had no time for distractions. The blonde demon vessel always carried out his duty to it's fullest; even if it involved posing as a newlywed beside his blonde-haired second in command. So instead of concentrating on the lingering smell of her perfume, he turned his attention to the number of enemy troops he counted coming in and out the village. With each little distraction, he found some vital mission-related detail to focus on. However, try as he might, he couldn't keep his mind off the fact that they would share a bedroom that night when they slept.

12. She told herself it wasn't too unusual for someone to be a day late when they returned from a mission. It was a common situation for a shinobi. She often dealt with it herself whenever she was assigned out of village missions. Besides, she would drive herself crazy if she tried to count the number of times he wasn't back on time.

13. She wished her friend wasn't so stubborn. After all, her rose-haired friend was just a close with her commander and had also been his teammate once upon a time. Whenever she mentioned that she and her squad leader hung out after work, her friend would give her this disgusted look and change the subject. Every time they talked about the blonde man and his girlfriend, she avoided looking the Hokage's apprentice in the eye. She saw the questions in her friend's emerald orbs and feared the day she would have to answer them.

14. He never understood why the Hyuga genius fought so hard whenever they spared lately. He decided to ask the dark-haired man about it, so asked him to join him for a few rounds at the bar. However, the cousin of his girlfriend curtly declined.

15. She was happy that he was so close to achieving his goals, but she felt like he could work a little less. Still, she supposed that his time would be stretched if he was going to be the leader of the village. It really didn't matter because she was going to be the one by his side when it all his training was over. She thought about it and she cried tears of happiness because so many women would do anything to trade places with her. At least she told herself that's why she cried.

16. She thought the ring her command had given his girlfriend was so pretty. She smiled as the heiress showed off her jewelry and suppressed the guilt and jealousy that formed a pit in her stomach. But some of pain faded when he told the girl that she had her own good news. She was pregnant and would be retiring to raise the child. She saw the sparkle in the Hyuga girl's eyes fade some at the announcement, but she still hugged the Yamanaka and congratulated her on motherhood.

17. He hated losing such a good squad member, but it was the right thing to do. With a child on the way, she could not function as his second in command anymore. However, he would miss her on missions because no one watched his back and took care of him like she did. When she came in to serve her resignation, he promised to come and visit to check up on her. After all, the woman would be a single mother and would need some help every now and again.

18. It was the happiness day of her life and she would make sure everyone knew it. As she walked down the isle in her extravagant bridal gown, she looked throughout the room at each and every woman she knew had made advances on her soon-to-be-husband. She wanted them to see her smile as he slipped the ring over her finger that would link the two of them forever. He belonged to her and there was no room for any other woman in his life.

19. She watched the ceremony from the crowd with her infant daughter sleeping soundly in her arms. As she saw her old squad leader donning the robes of the village leader, she felt her feeling of pride wash over her. She was sure he would watch over the village just like he had watched out for her during missions. However, when she saw his wife standing next to him on the podium, the former ANBU couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if she was in the heiress' place. Then she looked down at her napping daughter and said a silent prayer of thanks for her turning out blonde-haired and blue-eyed just like her mother. Looking so much like the mother meant few asked about the father.

20. He would take care of his wife, especially now that she carried his child. But he also had to watch out for his village. He was Hokage now and he would make sure to watch out for those who helped him along the path to his dream. People like his second in command from his days as an ANBU. She had recently had a pretty little blonde haired, blue eyed daughter a few months ago. It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for them. As well as his wife got along with his former teammate, they all seemed like family.

Let me say first and formost: I hate One-Shots. As a rule, I tend not to write them and I rarely read them. However, I wanted to try my hand at making one that didn't make me feel like pulling my hair out. This piece is actually one part writing exercise and one part tribute to my favorite one shot. "Twenty White Lies" by The-Xenocide. After reading it, I felt compelled to try my hand at the same concept. I only hope my version isn't nearly as bastardized as it feels to me.

7/24/2007 – After reviewing the story and allowing a few people to see it, I realized the grammar errors and mistakes. I also felt it could leave a few more hints in the story. I rewrote a few segments and hopefully this version reads better than the last. I apologize for the bad grammar; this isn't a story I ran through a beta reader.


End file.
